Black Rose
by Jessiedamnation
Summary: It's been ten years since the legendary Dragonborn defeated the World-Eater Alduin, and the Stormcloaks were overthrown by the Imperials. The fearsome dragons are slowly dying out again. Ariella Hersaena's parents are killed by the Dark Brotherhood and she is hunted by the Black-Briars to settle a debt her parents never paid.
1. Prologue - The Dark Brotherhood Cometh

Prologue  
><em>The Dark Brotherhood Cometh<em>

Riften, a bustling city in the south east of the Rift. Most of the city sits above the canal, which used to serve as access for small cargo boats, but during the Civil War, it remained unused and still. Riften sits in the middle of the Autumnal Forest region of Skyrim that surrounds the city.

The weather is generally pleasant, sometimes overcast and rains heavily. Most of the structures in the city are wooden, and gives Riften an old, run-down feel to it. Underneath the economic strength and the business in Riften, the city holds a darker side; it is the home of thievery, corruption, a lot of which has led the people to despair.  
>With the Imperials overthrowing the Stormcloaks, they brought an end to the Civil war almost ten years ago now, Maven Black-Briar has taken her place as Jarl of Riften, tightening her grip on the throats of everyone in the Rift, and the Thieves Guild had been revived by a newcomer.<p>

The sky above had opened up, and then came a torrential storm. The market had to be closed, and guards had confined themselves to sheltered places to keep watch over Riften. Though there wasn't much going on today, however, inside Mistveil Keep, it was a different story.

The matriarch of the Black-Briar family sat atop her throne, a tankard of Black-Briar mead had been left untouched at her side, Maven was in no mood to be drinking, she couldn't afford to have clouded judgement during 'business hours'. The aging Breton woman sat with her hands placed neatly in her lap, her darkened glare lit up by the fire burning in the hearth. "Hemming." She said to her son flatly, her dark eyes glancing briefly to Hemming, who stood a few feet away, working through his fifth bottle.

"Yes mother?" He looked straight up at her, eager to receive her 'orders'. Hemming loved to kiss his mother's ass, he was ambitious and pompous, believing himself to be the best merchant and swordsman in all of Skyrim.

"Get me some paper and one of my good quills, I have a letter to write." Maven waved him off and leaned back slightly in the throne. She had been waiting for a considerable amount of coin, that coin had never been paid, however, and Maven was an impatient woman. Hemming did as he was asked, and brought her some paper and a quill to write with. Maven gave him a nod of thanks and sent him on his way.

"That Bosmer whore will never take me for a fool ever again." Maven grumbled through gritted teeth as she quickly, but neatly wrote the letter, grinning wickedly once she had signed her name at the very bottom. She slipped it into a cream coloured envelope and closed it with a dark purple wax seal, embellished with a rose, the stem lined with thorns as sharp and as deadly as Maven's glare. With a satisfied smirk, Maven handed the letter to her son and told him to deliver it post-haste.

Ivarstead is a community that had grown since the war had ended, it was to the far west of Shor's Stone and north-west from Riften; serving as a rest stop for pilgrims before they made the journey up the Seven Thousand Steps to High Hrothgar, the temple that housed the illusive Greybeards. All was quiet save for the footsteps of the occasional guard on watch walking by, whoever was not at home would be drinking away their pay in the Vilemyr Inn.

The sudden slamming of a front door could be heard, and Ariella Hersaena stomped down the cobblestone path away from home, her hands bunching up her dress so she would not trip over, the adolescent felt hard done by, she worked and worked without expecting a single thing, but when she wanted to go study at the Bard's College in Solitude, her parents would have none of it and scolded her. Her passion was music and she did not care for the simple farmer's life, and she definitley did not want to be married off and made to have a family, living the hum-drum life until the day she grew withered and died. Ariella perished the thought and made her way to the river, sitting cross-legged in the grass and the mud, not caring for the fact that she was ruining her dress.

Ariella stared thoughtfully at the base of the Throat of the World, then slowly she trailed her eyes up until she could no more, straining her neck to see as far up as she could. "I bet I wouldn't have to worry about stupid parents and stupid farms if I lived way up there with those Greybeards." She muttered to herself, looking back down at the river.

"What are you doing out here all on your own?" Came a familiar voice from behind her, the teenager looked over her shoulder at the grey-haired Klimmek, a Nord who regularly made trips up the Steps. Because Ariella was so fascinated with the Greybeards and the very mountain itself, she often asked Klimmek about his experiences going there, and so the two had become friends. "Your mother would be worried about you."

"I don't care." Ariella grumbled stubbornly, looking away from her older friend, she brought her knees under her chin and hugged her legs. "I bet mother and father don't care either."

"Nonsense, your parents love you and they care very much."

"Why won't they let me do what I want then? I don't even want to put my life in danger, it's not like I want to go be an adventurer." The girl whined, wiping small tears away with the back of her hand. "I don't want to be that, but instead sing tales of the people who do."

"A bard." Klimmek nodded as he sat down on the grass next to her. "So you want to go to the College, then?"

Ariella nodded.

"Solitude is a long way from here." Klimmek pointed out. "That journey would cost more than what most of us have in our pockets. And even though Ivarstead is more populated and there is more business in the last few years, life here is still hard."

"I understand." Ariella nodded solemnly and looked down again.

"Wait until you're older, when you have more freedom and coin." Klimmek finished, and stood up, stretching. "Come on kid, I'll take you home."

They were greeted at the door by a very worried Kiara Hersaena. Her normally chestnut coloured skin looked pale, and her amber eyes lit up with relief upon seeing her daughter safe and sound at the door. "Thank you again Klimmek." She smiled at the Nord, and gave Ariella a worried frown. "Come inside." She told her, and watched after her daughter as she hung her head and stomped inside the house. "She didn't cause you any trouble did she? We were arguing all afternoon about this journey she's so set on taking." Kiara turned back to Klimmek, running a hand through her auburn hair.

"No, she was no trouble." Klimmek shook his head, offering the worried mother a calming smile. "You have a nice night, Kiara." He nodded a goodbye and headed back down the path to his own house, humming a tune under his breath as he went on his way.

Ariella sat in her bedroom, arms crossed, she leaned against the door, putting all her weight on it so that her parents couldn't come in. She was expecting a lecture and didn't want to hear it, and just in time, there was a soft knocking at her door.

"Ariella, dear? Can we talk?" Came the muffled voice of her mother from the other side.

"No." Ariella snapped quickly, crossing her arms tighter, she could hear her mother sigh and try the door, the teen was slightly pushed forward, but aside from that she didn't move. "Go away."

"Not until we talk. Don't make me get your father."

"Go and get him then." Ariella spat, her glare deepened, she figured her mother was bluffing and would eventually leave. A small smile crossed her lips when she heard the fading footsteps, and moved away from the door, rising to her feet.

There was a heavier knock at the door this time, and Ariella rushed back to the door, slamming both palms down and pushing. "Go away! Go away!" She shouted through the door. "Leave me alone! I hate you both!"

"Ariella... stop acting like a child." Her father's grumble was barely audible, the Imperial was so softly spoken, he had seen much during the war and this had made him very quiet. Ariella kept her distance when he returned, as he was not the father she had grown accustomed to.

Ariella didn't answer and eventually her parents left her alone. She didn't move away from the door until she couldn't hear her parents talking among each other about her behavior as of late. She was usually very well behaved, but she truly wanted this, and was trying so hard to get it. But she kept being forced into the life she didn't want.  
>About an hour passed and Ariella had started wishing she sat down and spoke to her parents<br>but they would have gone to bed now. Ariella sighed and dressed herself for bed, she sat on her bed reading until she got too tired and went to sleep.

A high-pitched shriek pulled Ariella out of her fitful slumber, she sat upright and looked around the room, her heart thumped wildly in her chest, and she was coated in a thin sheen of sweat.  
>Ariella was sometimes frightened out of her sleep because of nightmares, but this was different.<p>

"You faithless bastards!" She heard the angry yell of her father, followed by another pained cry. Ariella looked straight at the door with wide eyes, she could hear things being smashed and the sounds of struggle, and eventually everything went silent.

"Father?" A cautious squeak escaped her lips. She could hear soft shuffling around the house, and some words being exchanged, but couldn't understand it. "M-mother?"

Ariella slowly, and quietly crept out of bed and over to the door, pulling it open slowly, she peered out of the room and saw the house in a wreck. There were plates and ornaments scattered around the house, and blood splattered the wall in front of her parents' bedroom. The door sat ajar, and Ariella gulped, slowly creeping out into the hallway, she didn't dare speak, and the strong scent of blood filled her nostrils, she doubled over and vomited, both palms down on the wooden floor. As Ariella finished being sick, she shakily sat up again and felt a presence from behind. She looked over her shoulder at two strangers clad in black and red armor, they glared down at her. The teenager froze to the spot.

"A kid? The letter never said anything about that." A husky, feminine voice spoke first. Under the hood, Ariella could make out ashen coloured skin, she could see that this woman was a Dunmer.

"Well what should we do with her? She wasn't part of the contract." The second voice spoke, a male, the accent was unmistakably that of a Nord.

"This child is pathetic and fragile, once she goes into that room, she will kill herself out of grief. Leave her." The Dunmer scowled down at Ariella and shortly afterward, they were gone.  
>Ariella could hear the ghoulish moaning of the wind from outside, a storm had come, and shortly after the torrential rain followed it. Ariella slowly made her way to her parents' room and if she hadn't already thrown up everything in her stomach, she would have just now. The gore was too much for her to bear, a gaping hole was in each of their chests, their throats slit open, the room was stained with blood and the stench was overpowering. Ariella gagged and coughed as she backed away from the scene, her hands on her face, she fell to her knees and wept for her lost family. They were gone. They were gone and she didn't even get a chance to say good bye, or to tell them just how much she loved and appreciated them.<p>

Back in Riften, Maven was tending to more business affairs before retiring to bed when her eldest wandered over.  
>"Mother." He said, breathlessly. "I came... I came as fast as I could."<p>

"I presume you're bothering me for a good reason, Hemming?" Maven looked up from her paperwork, arching a brow, there were light circles under her eyes and the older woman stifled back a yawn with a pale hand.

"Indeed, mother, the assassins have killed the couple in Ivarstead." Hemming nods.

Maven rolled her eyes. "As expected, I see no reason why you're telling me this."

"They speak of a girl being present."

"A girl? Why does any of this matter?" Maven began to lose her patience with the man, she cast him a dangerous glare as she sat upright. "Why should I care about one girl?"

"The assassins believe her to be the daughter of the couple." Hemming twiddles his thumbs, looking sheepishly at his mother as he realized how pointless this was, why would Maven care about an orphan?

"So? Send her to Honorhall or some place. I don't give a damn." Maven went back to her work and started writing again, but she paused for a moment, pressing a finger to her lips as she realised something. "You say she is the daughter of that Bosmer filth?"

Hemming nods silently while rummaging around for a bottle of mead. "Do you want her out of the way?"

"No, you fool. Think about it, her mother was obviously incapable of paying off her debts, so I had her killed. A child would be easier to motivate, bring her to me immediately."

"But mother... do you not think that's... cruel?"

"What it may be is of no concern to me. But I expect you to do what I ask without question, I am the Jarl _and_ your mother, now bring the girl to me, or expect to be sharing a cell with your son in prison." She said slowly, glaring harder at Hemming.

"Yes mother, right away." Hemming nods, and quickly leaves for Ivarstead with not another moment to lose. If there was one thing he was afraid of, that was angering his mother.

**AN: Review and follow please! :)**


	2. Chapter One - Running

**AN: I'd like to thank those who have submitted OC's, and I really hope I can use most of them at some point, I am still pondering on the other main characters, so keep them coming, I'm hoping to introduce another on the way to, or in Riften. **

**Thanks for those who have been reading. I'll get on with the story now. :)**

Chapter One  
><em>Running<em>

Ariella left Ivarstead straight after she got her bearings, gathering only what she could carry with her in a small knapsack, including the small coin purse she was adding onto from the work she had done. She also took with her one of her fathers' swords, Skyrim was a dangerous place and she needed to be armed, though she didn't know how to fight.  
>Ariella decided it would be best to head for Riften, there she would get a carriage and get as far away from the Rift as possible. She thought about finding some kind of work, and once she had enough coin, would travel to Solitude.<p>

But what of her parents?

They're dead and gone now, and Ariella felt like she couldn't just leave them there without a proper burial, but she couldn't go back either, she hoped that someone would come and find them.

It was roughly three in the morning and Ariella hugged herself around the waist while she walked further away from the life she knew, looking up at the night sky, she could just about see Secunda hanging high above behind the clouds, coloured a sickly grey. She was alone, scared and probably one of the easiest targets in all of Skyrim right about now.

Ariella had come onto the main road, and as she passed Lake Geir, up ahead, Ariella heard the fast approaching sound of hooves, and barely got out of the way to let a nobleman pass, he wore a scowl and glared at her through yellow-ish eyes. "Get out of my bloody way." He grumbled down at her, and Ariella didn't bother to respond, she turned and stomped onward, muttering under her breath about how rude people in Skyrim were, all while tears welled in her eyes; creating soft rivers down her cheeks. Ariella came to a stop, removing her knapsack, she searched through it for her map to see how much further she had to walk; she was about halfway now, coming up along Treva River, if Ariella kept going at this pace she would get there at about sunrise. She peered through the trees to her left and could see a tower looming over the river on the other side. Ariella came past the bridge and looked over, noticing a few bandits posted on watch, Ariella hurried along the path before she was noticed.

As Ariella left Treva's Watch behind, a sudden, strong gust of wind came up behind her and knocked Ariella to the ground, her tattered map flying out of her grasp and being carried away by the wind. She uttered a cry of shock and stumbled to her feet, bunching up her dress so she wouldn't fall and ran after it. "Get back here!" she shouted after it as she chased the map away from the path.

Ariella ran, dodging trees and clambering over rocks, the map was just within her reach as she came up onto a bridge, as she reached for it, the map was blown way up above her head and was carried into the river below. The girl leaned over the side of the bridge, looking defeated. Ariella let out an annoyed yell and kicked at the ground.

"Well, well, what have we got 'ere then?" Came a voice from behind, Ariella jumped, her head snapped over to the voice, and she slowly turned, instinctively her small hand hovered over her sheathed blade. it looked like she had attracted the bandits from afar. '_By the fire'_ Ariella hissed to herself.

Before her stood a rather unfriendly fellow, he stood at about six feet and had dark skin littered with scars, his right eye was blind and the left was a peircing green. "I've found me a little elf girl." His rugged lips slowly curled into a wild grin. Seconds later two other bandits had approached, all sneering with blackened and missing teeth. Ariella drew her sword with a shaky hand and took her stance, it was clumsy, her feet were too close together and she looked like she might have fallen with the weight of the sword.

"Get away from me, or I'll... I'll hurt you!" Ariella tried to sound threatening, but failed miserably.

The first bandit threw his head back and roared with laughter. "Look at this boys! Little girly thinks she's a soldier." He chuckled, wiping his eyes with the back of his filthy hand. "I don't know who you think you're dealing with kid but-"

The bandit was cut short of his statement, due to Ariella plunging the sword into his stomach without a second thought. She screamed, out of fear and released the hilt, backing away hurriedly with widened eyes. "I'm sorry!" She cried, and ran in the opposite direction, tripping but not quite falling, she stumbled across the bridge and strayed completely from the path, delving further within the trees.

She could hear the bandits yelling after her, the one she stabbed was silent, perhaps he was dead? Ariella gulped and stopped behind a cluster of large rocks, briefly catching her breath. She didn't want to think of that, even if they might have either killed, raped or sold her off, she still didn't want to kill anyone, Ariella simply didn't have the heart for something like that. The wind howled loudly as a storm began rolling in, and it wouldn't be long before it started to rain. Ariella picked herself up off of the ground, picking leaves out of her hair and clothes before moving on, hugging herself to provide some warmth. She hurried onward, not knowing where she was going, but she couldn't just sit around and wait to be killed.

* * *

><p>As the sun begins to rise over Ivarstead, a shrill shriek pierces the air. Guards and onlookers shortly surround the Hersaena household. A middle-aged Nord woman named Fastred stood just inside the house, the ripe smell of death violated her nostrils instantaneously, the copper smell rendered her sick, and the sight had completely petrified the woman.<p>

"By the G-Gods" She managed to choke out in a hoarse whimper, sniffling and sobbing as she was gently escorted out by her parents.

"It's okay dear." Her mother tried to soothe her, but it was to no avail, Fastred continued to sob and murmur under her breath as she was taken home.

"Okay citizens, there's nothing to see here..." One of the Ivarstead guards tried to restore order within the small neighbourhood and began waving the curious onlookers away, thankful that his helmet spared him of the smell of death, but only just, the guard still had to try and retain his composure while he was given the duty of cleaning up with another guard. The bodies would be buried, but there was also the matter of where the girl had gone to. While the guards cleaned, there was hushed conversation, dark rumors of the killer being the half-blooded Bosmer girl. But there was something almost signature about this killing, something a child could not quite obtain.

The sound of hooves approached up the path, and Hemming Black-Briar shortly came into view, his firey-yellow eyes scanned his surroundings, and he slowed his horse to a canter. Hemming noticed bodies being carried towards the cemetery, and he traced it back to the house in which they were killed in search of the girl. With no luck, and being sent away by the guard, Hemming decided that it would be best to get drunk at the inn.

The Vilemyr inn was quiet and solemn, there were hushed whispers and the gentle thud of tankards being put down. The Hersaena family were friends to many in Ivarstead, and a lot of people mourned. Hemming was the only one who barged in loudly, pushing past patrons and demanding mead, he had plenty of gold and the Innkeeper really wasn't in the mood to be getting into any arguments, so he just watched Hemming to make sure he didn't cause any serious troubles.

All the nobleman did was drink and try to strike up conversation with people who sat near him, but they soon moved away once Hemming became a real annoyance, all he did was boast, caring none for the fact that there was a murder just recently. But then Hemming remembered the reason he came here, and with a half-full tankard of mead, he wobbled over to the Innkeeper, and drunkenly slumped against the bar. "I have a few q-queshtuns for you, Innkeeper."

Wilhelm arched a brow and put down the tankard he had been cleaning. "And what is it do you want? You're causing quite the ruckus in here."

"Th-the people who were killed..." Hemming began, before releasing a burp, but he was cut off.

"I have nothing to say to you about those people." Wilhelm pulled his brows together into a frown. "I think you should leave. There are a lot of people in mourning here."

"You... you... Wait 'til my m-mother hears about this!" Hemming grumbled loudly, staggering away.

Wilhelm scoffed. "Go home, momma's boy."

As Hemming left the inn to find his horse, somehow he had managed to anger a passing villager, and lost a few teeth. He was terribly drunk, beat up and unsuccessful, Hemming had a feeling he would be severely punished for his poor performance.

* * *

><p>Ariella awoke in a pile of hay, she itched and ached all over, and was clueless as to where she was, and how she even ended up here. But as she sat up and looked around, noticing a couple of horses standing nearby, Ariella figured that it might have been safe. The girl yawned and sat up groggily, rubbing her tired eyes with the backs of her dirty hands. She would have loved to bathe and eat something warm right about now. Ariella felt a pang of sadness as she remembered that her parents had just been killed and she won't ever see another one of her mother's homecooked meals again. Her breath caught in her throat as she let out a painful sob, Ariella quickly gathered her miniscule amount of possessions and left the stables, but was stopped by a voice behind her.<p>

"Hey, what do you think you're doing, sleeping in the hay that my horses are supposed to eat?"

Ariella turned to face a tall, angry Nord. He had grey hair tied back into a tight pony tail, and wore dark red clothes and boots.

Ariella stood there in a daze, her light brown hair in a mess, with bits of hay sticking out of it, her coppery skin was paled and she just looked exhausted. Her slightly pointed ears were just visible though her matted hair, and her wide amber-coloured eyes looked cluelessly at the Nord. "Uh... where am I?"

"What in Shor's name do you mean, "Where are you?"" The Nord's frown deepened and he folded his arms over his broad chest. "You were sleepin' nice and cozy in my stable!"

"But where?" She urged, a slight frown crossed her face.

"Riften, you idiot girl." The Nord grumbled. "Now get out of here, I don't want to see you sleeping around here again, you hear?"

"Uh... Yeah, okay." Ariella nodded and turned away from the annoyed Nord and wandered towards Riften, looking up at the wall before her, her eyes trailed down to look at the guards posted at either side of the gate.

"You there, you need to pay a visitor's tax before you can come in." An Imperial guard approached, his arms crossed over his chest, the uniform slightly intimidated Ariella, and she found herself eyeing the guard's sword.

"Hey, I'm not going to stand here all day." The guard grumbled, holding his palm out in front of Ariella's face.

"What's the toll for?" She arched a brow, turning her attention back to the guard.

"For the privilege of entering the city, what does it matter?"

"Fine..." Ariella sighed, taking her coin purse out from her knapsack and fishing around in it. She could tell it was just a scam, but couldn't really be bothered kicking up a fuss, besides, she wasn't very coercive. "How much?"

"Two hundred Septims." Ariella could almost feel the guard grinning behind his helmet. She glared.

"What? I don't even have that much!" Ariella gasped.

"Well it looks like we're going to have to take you in."

"You can't be serious!" Ariella's eyes widened, two hundred Septims was appalling!

"Believe me, I am very serious." The guard said with a chuckle, and he seized her quickly, Ariella winced at his firm grip and was dragged helplessly by the arm to Riften Jail.


	3. Chapter Two - Fenrir

**AN: Finally putting up the next chapter, ha ha. I've suffered terrible writer's block and instead have invested my time in my PS3. xD I am still a bit blocked but I tried anyway, this one isn't very long though. **

**But this chapter I'm introducing an OC, and it's been a little hard deciding who to put in, so I don't know if I'm going to restrict it to just 2, we'll just have see how it goes won't we? :P**  
><strong>But there is something I did forget in the OC submission form thingy, an appearance, I have no idea what any of your characters look like! D: I'm terribly sorry, I will make changes to that part and if you could, add in an appearance for me please. (Thanks to those who did include appearances though. xD)<strong>

**But I'd like to thank Devran for his OC, Fenrir Hjornskar. c: **

Chapter Two  
><em>Fenrir<em>

Fenrir liked the forest around Riften, it provided a lot of healthy game for him to hunt. Even though he never stayed in one place for too long, Fenrir often came back to this part of the Rift for the hunting. Crouching low, the young Nord spotted an elk with the biggest antlers he'd ever seen on an elk, with excited, wide eyes he withdrew an arrow from the quiver on his back and notched it into the bow, taking aim, Fenrir shut his right eye and held his breath, releasing the arrow. It hit straight through the heart, Fenrir grinned a wide grin and walked over to his kill. He would skin it as soon as he returned to his camp and prepare the meat for selling and eating. Fenrir quickly bound the elk and began dragging it back to camp with a rope. His arms and abdomen strained at the weight, and the rope threatened to cut into his palms. "This one's a big one" Fenrir huffed to himself under his breath. Luckily he didn't camp too far from here.

Fenrir continued through the forest and just caught sight of the stone-built gates that led into Riften. He would go there later to replenish his arrows, but for now he had to get his kill back to camp, his stomach growled in anticipation as the camp came into view. There was a tent, a small fire and that was it. Fenrir kept it minimalistic, he didn't bother putting much else because he would be leaving tomorrow.

Fenrir sat beside the fire and began skinning the elk with one of his daggers with the utmost precision, he was clumsy in other aspects but when it came to hunting he was quite good, even though he wasn't very stealthy, Fenrir tended to do something stupid to get himself seen. He was lucky it was only with deer so far. Anything else, like a bandit maybe, and he might be dead.

As the sun began to set behind the surrounding mountains, Fenrir had just finished cutting the venison and separating it from what he would eat and what he would sell. He salted it and put it into a small air-tight barrel, and the rest he put into a sack wrapped in cloths, he also made sure to clean and stretch the skin out. Afterwards, Fenrir cleaned and put the dagger away in one of the concealed parts of his armor, took the sack of venison and headed for Riften before they closed the market.

The market had been quiet, and Fenrir managed to get a good price for his venison and bought some arrows with it. Fenrir decided to spend a bit, and went to the Bee and Barb for some mead.

* * *

><p>Inns were always loud, warm and smelled nice. Fenrir sometimes found himself listening to drunk conversations, nothing about anything serious, just banter and idiocy, it was one of Fenrir's favorite forms of entertainment; watching drunks be drunk, he got a good laugh out of it. But all of that had suddenly vanished when a dark cloud had begun looming over the Barb, a dark, sinister cloud named Maven Black-Briar.<p>

Fenrir hated the woman, he cringed at the very sound of her name. His shoulders tensed when he heard her son Hemming bellowing at someone for being in his way, and he shuddered when Maven told him to shut his stupid mouth.

"I'm ashamed of being in your company, Hemming." Maven growled and sat beside Fenrir, and Hemming sat beside her on the far end, looking sheepish as always when he was in her company. "You can never do anything I ask of you, you can't even find one stupid little girl."

"I'm sorry, mother, I don't know where she could be."

Maven simply ignored her son and turned her attention to the innkeeper. "Argonian." She snapped at Keerava, her fingers drumming on the wood. "Black-Briar mead, and make it quick."

"Certainly, _my Jarl_." Keerava replied, her reptilian voice dripped of a deadly, sarcastic venom when she addressed Maven as her "Jarl" and left to get Maven her mead. The Jarl turned back to her son, pursing her lips together into a thin line. She drew closer to Hemming, making him swallow hard, little beads of sweat appeared on his brow, he wanted to look away but her cold, dark gaze kept him focused on his mother.

"Find her, Hemming. I won't ask again."

"I-I will, mother."

Their conversation ended when the mead was brought to them. And Fenrir zoned out of the idle chatting, wondering what that Hagraven would want with a child. Fenrir finished his mead and left the inn quickly after paying the coin, without noticing that something had been expertly slipped into his back pocket.

* * *

><p>The night sky was beautiful, there was an array of colour spanning the inky-black canvas, and Masser hung bloated above the city. The chilly air nipped at Fenrir's skin, but it didn't bother the Nord one bit. As Fenrir headed for the gates, a shrill shriek broke the silence.<p>

"Help! Guards! That man stole my necklace!"

Fenrir's ears pricked up and he turned to face two Riften guards built like High Hrothgar running straight at him, shoving Fenrir to the ground and holding him down. "Agh! Hey!" Fenrir grunted and thrashed about. "What in Akatosh's name is going on here?"

The guards ignored him and jerked his cloak away and threw it on the ground, they removed all of his weapons and threw them about, they took all of his coin and pulled a gold necklace embellished with rubies out of his back pocket. "Aha!" One of them announced. "We've got you now, sneak-thief."

"I didn't steal that- hey!" Fenrir began to argue as the guards seized him by both arms.

The woman who had called for the guards grinned upon her success. She wondered why anyone would want him framed, but that was just part of the job, wondering about it wasn't. The letter simply stated to get the Nord imprisoned, nothing else, it wasn't even signed. She pulled her hood over her head and jumped down into the canal, plunging herself into the darkness without a sound.


	4. Chapter Three - Escape

**AN: Oh wow I haven't put anything up in a while, and I'm really sorry for that. Today I just decided to just get it over with and do as much writing as possible. It might not be up to scratch, and I'll do my best to make sure it is. **

**I'm not taking in any more OC's, but there will be an appearance or two in later chapters, they might even join the group. For now, sit back and enjoy Ariella and Fenrir's escape from the Riften Jail! :P **

Chapter Three  
><em>Escape<em>

Ariella sat huddled with her face buried in her arms, she cried silently while she shivered on the filthy, torn bed roll she would be made to sleep on, despite this, she could still feel the chill of the stone beneath her. Her meager belongings had been placed into a chest some feet away, and she had been forced to change into ragged clothes that had likely been on the bodies of numerous prisoners in the past, it was much too big for her slim body and provided little for the cold.

Ariella thought back on what had transpired in recent days. Her parents had been murdered by people she doesn't even know, the only clue she has is their armor. Being someone who enveloped herself in tales and songs, the only thing she could draw from the red and black armor they wore was that those people were from the Dark Brotherhood, and that had chilled her to the bone. But what made matters worse, was that she was now in prison because of this shady city. The thought that she would likely die in here crossed her mind, Ariella softly whimpered as fresh tears surfaced.

"Hey, you can't do this!" A young male voice broke the silence, the teenager looked up to see an armored boy being dragged in by two guards, he looked like he might have been a couple of years older than she was, it seems that young citizens being jailed was a common thing here.

"You stole someone's property, the law dictates that we can put you in here and do whatever we like with you, kid." The guard at his left barked as they descended the staircase down to the cells. The boy, knowing his attempts were futile, slumped his head and allowed himself to be shoved into a separate room for his armor to be traded in for rags and the rest of his belongings removed.

"Get in there." The guard shoved the boy into the cell next to Ariella's and locked it, he turned to the other guard and tossed him the keys.

"To the bee and barb then Vikjor?" He nodded to the guard known as Vikjor as he hung the key on the hooks on the far wall.

"You don't have to ask twice." Vikjor chucked, his Nord accent was deep. The two guards continued their conversation as they left, Ariella heard the doors slam shut, and then there was a brief silence before the newcomer spoke, as the lighting was dim it was difficult to focus on him, Ariella could only see an outline, and a mass of short hair.

"We need get out of here, I'm here under false pretenses, I don't agree with this."

Ariella nodded. "I am too, and I wholeheartedly agree. Do you have a plan?"

The boy lowered his head, looking sheepishly at the floor. "Not really..."

"Great." Ariella frowned and slumped against the wall. She had been sitting here for so long now that her backside had gone numb and she was used to the cold. "Well I'm no jailbreaker, I don't have any lockpicks, and I don't suppose you do either."

"Nope." He shook his head, looking back up at Ariella.

"You kids wanna make a break for it?" Came a hoarse voice from the other side, from the shadows emerged an ancient looking Breton, with an ash coloured beard that reached the floor, he looked at the teenagers with beady dark eyes and extended a gnarled arm with a few lockpicks in his palm. "You can take these. I'm going to die any day now." He tossed them over, they scattered, but due to sheer luck they were in reach. Ariella managed to take only one, while the boy took two.

"My thanks, but why didn't you escape sooner?" Ariella asked, clutching the lockpick like a lifeline, she was more than thankful, but confused.

"I am a killer, I don't deserve freedom. I only had these due to chance, I would have given them to the guards if you two didn't come along."

"How long have you been in here?" The boy asked next.

"I've lost track of the years, I've seen so many people come and go, even the Jarl's own son, who is still in here mind you, he's up top." The elder gestured up with a skinny finger. "Got a fancy cell and all. Lucky bastard." He began to chuckle but started coughing violently for a moment, and then stopped. "I won't keep much more of your time young ones. Go, make your escape."

"You have our eternal thanks stranger." The boy smiled thankfully, then turned to Ariella, "Let's get out of here."

* * *

><p>Ariella slowly slipped the pick into the lock and paused; she had no idea what she was doing and looked cluelessly at the pick in the lock for a moment.<p>

"What are you waiting for? Nocturnal? Come on!" The boy urged while he started working on his lock.

"I... I have no idea what I'm doing." Ariella shook her head and looked to her neighbour for an answer.

"Neither do I, but we have to try."

"But, what do I do?"

"I don't know, jiggle the pick around I guess?"

Ariella started moving the pick around, a little too violently, and it snapped. She let out a cry of anger and slumped on the floor.

"Not like that." The boy groaned, and pushed the other lockpick he had into her cell. "Here. Don't mess this one up. Now I need to concentrate."

This time Ariella really tried to focus, she moved it around gently, applying slight pressure, and started feeling the weight of the tumblers shift, when she moved the pick the wrong way, it stiffened and threatened to snap. Ariella's heart stopped for a second and she stopped moving it immediately, and moved it back to the way she had it, continuing to work the lock until it finally gave way. The _click _of the lock was so satisfying and she almost screamed with glee. She opened the door slowly at first, but when it groaned loudly she shoved it open quicker. "I'm free-well, almost." Ariella chuckled lightly and turned to the boy, noticing that he too, had broken free.

"Great. Now we need to get our stuff and figure out a way to get out of here and away from Riften. But first..." He turned away from Ariella for a moment and walked over to the cell with the older Breton inside. "Hey, excuse me stranger...?"

There was no reply.

Ariella appeared beside him and pondered whether to put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him in some way, but decided against it, neither of them knew the Breton anyway. "I think he's gone."

He nodded. "Let's get going."

* * *

><p>Fresh air never felt better, a lot of prisoners have been in jail for much longer but even being in a cell all day and coming out of it still felt brilliant. Ariella was glad to be stretching her legs, and they both got changed into their normal attire back at the stables, despite Ariella being warned this morning, she didn't see the Nord anywhere in sight.<p>

"So we never had time to exhange pleasantries back there." Ariella began, turning her eyes to look at the boy. "My name is Ariella." She offered a hand for him to shake.

"Fenrir, it's nice to meet you, though I wish it was under better circumstances. I don't think we'll be coming back around here for a while." Fenrir replied, shaking her hand in return. "But I think we should head back to my camp and start packing it up before we're noticed and taken back there with a harsher punishment." Fenrir looked nervous, and the pair hurried their steps off the path towards the small camp in a clearing among the trees.

Ariella helped Fenrir pack up his camp, which was done much quicker, and they were off in a matter of minutes. Fenrir inspected his map while Ariella shifted the weight of her much heavier knapsack on her back, as she had offered to carry some of his belongings in it for him. "So I'm guessing we're sticking together then, what's the plan?"

"I think we should head for the Whiterun Hold, and go to Riverwood. I'm familiar with some of the people there, and we can stay at the inn."

"That will take some time." Ariella pulled her brows together into a slight frown, looking back out at the path that stretched out before them, even though they kept at a steady pace, it would take a day or two at least to get to Riverwood on foot, longer because they need to sleep.

"That's okay, we can stay overnight in Ivarstead, hopefully we're not being searched for there and the guards there don't know about us, even if what we did wasn't wrong, breaking out of jail now makes us criminals."

Ariella's heart sank. "I... I don't really want to go back there..."

Fenrir turned to look at her, a serious look crossed his face. Ariella noticed flecks of red in his dark eyes, the light of the moon made it especially prominent. Features like that were a marvel, like her slightly pointed ears, but a lot of people thought otherwise. "Go back there"? What do you mean by that?"

"I come from Ivarstead... Long story short, I'm here because of something that happened back there, and I don't want to return so soon. It's why I came to Riften." Ariella replied in a low voice, she avoided eye contact, and she didn't really want to talk about this with Fenrir, but she should be honest with him if she was travelling with him.

Fenrir nodded. "I can understand that. Well, we can camp a bit further east of Ivarstead, hopefully there's a good spot around there somewhere."

Ariella nodded, and they were silent from then on.

* * *

><p>It was the early hours of the morning, and the pair stopped to set up camp not far from the Honeystrand Cave, the Throat of the World loomed above them, smaller mountains decorated the landscape, and the surface of the nearby river glittered from the moonlight. Fenrir and Ariella started setting up camp in among some foliage, they would need to hide from more than just guards on a search, if they could even be bothered coming out here in the first place.<p>

"So you came from Ivarstead all the way to Riften without a weapon?" Fenrir arched his brow as he assembled the twigs and leaves he gathered into a suitable fire.

"I did have one... but I left it with a bandit." Ariella said quietly as she took her place on the bedroll Fenrir had given her.

Fenrir chuckled, but gave Ariella a slightly confused look. "What do you mean, you just left it with a bandit? Did they steal it from you?"

Ariella shook her head. "No... I should say I left my sword... _in _the bandit. I was attacked on the road." Her skin went pale as she remembered all of the blood and the look of horror on the bandit's face, all she could do was run, she was so frightened.

"Wow..." Fenrir nodded slowly as the fire came to life, illuminating the small area, and he too made himself comfortable. "So what's on the menu then?" Fenrir fished into a small sack and pulled out a couple of plump red apples. "It's light, but it will do for now." He told Ariella, handing her one and biting a huge chunk out of his own.

"Thanks." Ariella smiled and quickly devoured the fruit, she hadn't eaten in a good while and was longing for something to eat.

Fenrir looked at her, surprised for a moment. "Want another one? I have plenty." He laughed and handed her another one, which Ariella savored this time, taking measured bites out of her apple until it was eventually gone.

"We should probably get some sleep." Fenrir said after they had eaten their fill of apples, he didn't take his armor off, just in case, even if he slept a little uncomfortably.

"I'm okay." Ariella huddled close to the fire, staring at the flames. Fenrir arched a brow at her and studied her for a moment, the flames reflected in her wide amber coloured eyes, she had eyes like a deer and her ears slightly showed through her messy brown hair, her skin was a deep chestnut colour, Ariella was a very unique individual indeed, but in her eyes he could see she was terribly sad. In those eyes he could almost see the eyes of his mother, his final memory with his parents was watching them being executed by the Thalmor for worshipping Talos. His family were proud Nords, and harbored disdain towards elvenkind, but Fenrir beared no ill will towards Ariella, she didn't seem like a bad person.

"I don't know what troubles you, Ariella. But I can say that it gets easier, trust me when I say this." He offered her a slight smile. "Besides, I'm sure we'll have a good time running free around Skyrim, and it might even distract you."

"You're right, of course you're right." Ariella nodded. "Thank you Fenrir."

"Anytime. Let's get some sleep, we've still got a long way to go."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I hope you guys liked that chapter! I should add that there will be no AriellaXFenrir, I think they would become almost like a brother and sister. :) The old man in the Riften Jail was no one in particular, just some old guy I threw in to help with the escape. :P <strong>

**I can't say when the next chapter will come, but I will try to get it up soon. :3 Thanks for reading, and thank you for sticking with me and being patient. **


	5. Chapter Four - The Bounty Hunters

**AN: I've realized that I made a terrible mistake early on, which I'm glad that nobody noticed. Or if you did, you were kind enough not to say anything. :P**  
><strong>Because my PS3 was out of action, I couldn't play Skyrim so I had to write from memory, and I got the two people mixed up at the bridge before you climb the 7,000 steps to High Hrothgar, Klimmek was the Nord, not the elf. My bad! x_x So I went back and fixed that, but I have a new PS3 now so hopefully there won't be any more mistakes. :L <strong>

**Also, there's a new OC in this chapter! I took some time thinking how I'd put him in, so hopefully the way I did it works well. I'd like to thank Doomstarr for submitting Jy Blackscale :)**  
><strong>Also, the Dark Elf accompanying him is a DB of mine from a previous playthrough, only instead of doing the storyline stuff I just messed about. :3 It might be hard to like her, but hopefully later on you will. <strong>

Chapter Four  
><em>The Bounty Hunters: I<em>

"Hurry, hurry, they're going to catch us!" Fenrir cried, gripping Ariella around the wrist tightly as he dragged her along, she struggled to keep up, as she was smaller than him, her legs were shorter and didn't cover much ground.

"I'm trying Fenrir!" Ariella looked behind her at the two figures who chased them at speed. Her eyes widened as they drew nearer. "They're coming!" She howled, "We're going to die!" Ariella's heart pounded, only moments ago they were just minding their own business when all of a sudden theywere being threatened at swordpoint. The Argonian donned red and black armor, which made Ariella's blood run cold. _Was he from the Dark Brotherhood? _She wondered as she ran at speed.

Fenrir frowned, he could almost taste blood in his mouth and his breath had grown hoarse. He looked to the river that had flowed exceptionally fast, there were many sharp rocks, but the water shouldn't be too cold at this time...

"Forgive me." He said quickly.

"Wait, what are you talking abo-" Ariella began, but was forcefully tossed into the river by the Nord, and carried away by the current. "You... I hope you are eaten alive by a sabre cat!" Ariella shrieked as her small face disappeared.

"I'm sorry!" Fenrir yelled after her, and turned to face his opponents, expression serious. "I don't know who you are or why you're after us, not being guardsmen chasing criminals. So I don't feel pity for killing you." He drew his bow, and notched an arrow. Though he spoke with confidence, on the inside he felt much different.

_****_

_**Earlier...**_

"We shouldn't be too far from Helgen now..." Ariella studied the map as she and Fenrir continued their journey. Fenrir walked alongside her, carrying a newly made cloak over his shoulders. The guards had ruined his last one, so he made a new one before they left camp.

"I never liked going to Helgen, even if that Dragon attack happened nearly ten years ago." Fenrir looked to the sky. "Imagine that...seeing the legendary Alduin in the flesh..."

"Well he's long gone now so I think you've missed the opportunity." Ariella chuckled. "I wouldn't want to see a live dragon anyway. My father always told me tales from the war about Dragons, soon enough they became a bigger problem than all the fighting between men." Ariella frowned.

"Thank Akatosh for the Dragonborn, eh?" 

* * *

><p>A pair of fiery orange eyes watched the two young travelers from atop a tree, his scaled face twisted and contorted into a toothy smile. "There they are." A low, gravelly voice spoke. Jy Blackscale didn't usually do things for the Black-Briars, he hated Maven and her wretched family to the very core, save for a few members who actually had a heart. But the Argonian desperately needed the coin, and his companion constantly felt the need to remind him of that fact.<p>

Below him stood a hooded Dark Elf, Ivelia, she was a strange Dunmer; like all Dark Elves, she shared their piercing blood-red eyes, but her skin was as white as the snow, much like the long-gone Snow Elves. Three angry scars tore down the left side of her face. "Let us not waste time, lest that wretch send people to capture _us _instead." She murmured in a harsh tone.

"Right." Jy nodded, and jumped out of the tree, his feet made barely a sound when he landed, and the two were gone in the blink of an eye.

_****_

_**Back to the current point in time...**_

"By seed and spleen! Why did you throw her into the river?!" The Argonian yelled at the boy, the sun glared off of his blackened scales.

"Why do you think?!" Fenrir yelled back. He noticed that he did not draw the intimidating black bow at his back, and he had some smaller knives used for throwing and a couple of potions and poisons strapped to his belt.

"Insolent boy!" The elf drew near next, drawing a long blade as black as night, a vibrant red glow outlined it, and just the very sight chilled Fenrir to the bone, he could almost feel it's power just by standing by it.

These two were no thugs.

"Don't kill him, Ivelia." The Argonian hissed, turning his fiery gaze upon her next. Ivelia didn't flinch, but slowly lowered her weapon.

"As you wish." She snapped in reply. "But what of the girl?"

The Argonian looked back to Fenrir, the Nord had an arrow pointed directly at his head. A scaly brow raised as Jy was unfazed by this. "I'll go after her." Jy replied, removing some of his armor and the belt he approached the edge of the river.

"Stop!" Fenrir shouted, "I'll fire!"

"It is likely that she'll die down there because of your stupidity. I can breathe underwater, I can go after her."

"But you'll do something to her! I can't allow you to do that." Fenrir glared. "What I did might have been stupid, but Ariella is smart, there's a high possibility that she's somehow gotten to safety."

"She's a child." Ivelia spat. "And not a Nord like you, she can't handle the cold."

"What if I pay you to bring her back to me safely?" Fenrir blurted. The bounty hunters' eyes widened.

"What?" Jy scaly brows pulled together into a frown. "This is ridiculous. Ivelia, speak to the boy, listen to what he has to say. I need to go get the girl." And with that, Jy entered the water, which only came up to his waist, and so he began walking with the current until it was deep enough for him to swim, and then he disappeared from sight.

Fenrir loosened his grip on the arrow, and removed it from the bow, placing it back into the quiver at his back. "I'll give you 500 septims for the safe return of the girl." He pulled a pouch from his bag and held it out to the elf. Hehad been saving this coin for a time, and even though he barely knew the girl, she had a good heart and regardless if he knew her well, he couldn't let someone with a good heart suffer.

"The Black-Briar woman is offering 5000" Ivelia grinned from under her hood. "Your offer is appalling."

"Black-Briar?" Fenrir's eyes widened. _So Ariella was the girl she was talking about in the Inn... It looks like Ariella is in a big mess right now... More reason to not let these people have her._

* * *

><p>Ariella had managed to drag herself to the edge of the river, where she had clung onto some rocks while the current battered relentlessly at her body. <em>What was he thinking? He's lucky I'm not dead. <em>Ariella gritted her teeth and pulled herself up, the weight of her soaked clothes had made this especially difficult, she coughed and spluttered, and finally collapsed on the damp earth, staring up at the sky above her.

"So I've found you, you didn't go very far after all." Came a reptilian voice from above her, Ariella jumped into a sitting position, coming face-to-face with the Argonian who was hunting her before. Upon closer inspection his scales were not just black, he had vibrant orange and yellow scales around his eyes and down the bridge of his nose. Two short horns protruded back and outwards, and he looked especially young for someone to be in this line of work.

"What are you going to do with me?" Ariella inched backwards, a mixture of fear and worry on her face.

"I'm going to take you to Maven Black-Briar." The Argonian replied. "What did you even do you piss her off?"

"I... I don't know what I did. M-my parents were killed by the Dark Brotherhood and the next thing I know I'm running for my life." Her deer-like eyes were rimmed with red, and she spoke so fast she didn't take a moment to breathe. "I'm so confused now, I haven't even had... had the time to mourn." Ariella's breath caught in her throat as she started hyperventilating. "I've... had to kill and I've been in prison for nothing... all in a matter of _days!" _The last word came out as a squeak, and then Ariella started to panic, tears streamed down her face and she leaned backwards, one hand on the leafy, wet ground to keep her up, her chest rose and fell quickly as she struggled to breathe. "O-oh... D-Divines help m-me." She whimpered through hoarse breaths.

Jy's eyes widened, he'd never witnessed a panic attack, and for a moment he just sat there looking confused. "Uh, hey, um, no... stop that..." He came to her side, hovering clawed hands above her shoulders in a pathetic attempt to calm her. "It's... it's going to be alright... I won't take you there." Jy wondered if that was the truth himself, but only his actions will tell. She was a very weak girl, Jy assumed she was sheltered her entire life, and forcefully being put into a life like this was too much for her.

_This is a bad move... But I just can't bring myself to do that. Everyone else I had gone after had been different, they were truly terrible in some way, I don't see how this kid could be capable of doing anything as terrible as the rest of these guys. _

"Hey, kid, you need to stop freaking out like this. I'm not gonna do anything to you." Jy continued to try, but he really wasn't good at this kind of thing, and having a short fuse didn't help either, he might end up losing patience with her and just drag her back to Ivelia.

"P-promise me." Ariella choked. "Swear on your life."

"I, Jy Blackscale, swear on my life that I will not take you to Maven-Black Briar." He raised a clawed leathery hand in the air and the other rested on his chest. "Satisfied?" He asked. "Are you going to calm down now?"

"Yes..." Ariella sighed, nodding. "I should be okay in a moment, you have my thanks, Jy Blackscale." 

* * *

><p>By the time all of this had ended, the sun had begun to set and the pair didn't make much progress to their destination so they were forced to make camp. Fenrir had started a fire in a clearing in the forest with a flames spell, they had set up their respective places of rest, and Fenrir, Jy and Ariella sat around the fire eating fruit and freshly cooked rabbit. Meanwhile Ivelia stood by a nearby tree, insisting that she wanted to be alone, and that someone should be keeping watch. She shrugged off Ariella and almost looked like she was going to kill her companion when he told her the deal with Maven was off. <em>I hate that bloody family as much as the next person but there was a lot of coin for that kid. <em>She scowled under her hood, leaning against the tall elderly tree in silence. _I suppose he had his reasons. He always did give into the soft, weak ones we went after. _Her scowl faded, and the corner of her mouth twitched a little as a smile threatened to break her cold exterior. Quickly banishing it, Ivelia looked back at the group. So far it seemed Jy was getting along with the people they were only just going after. Things can change quickly in a short time. _By the blood... we're getting in more trouble than what it's worth. _Ivelia pulled her brows together into a frown. _Damn those Black-Briars to Oblivion. _

"Hey Ivelia!" She heard Jy's voice call out to her. "You're going to miss out on the food!"

The Dunmer rolled her eyes and walked back over to the group, taking her place beside her friend, she reached over and took an apple, giving Ariella a cold glance before turning away.


	6. Chapter Five - The Bounty Hunters II

**AN: I should note that I'm not too good with fight scenes, while there'll be a bit more fighting, they might be... well... bad. xD So I'm sorry in advance. Anyway, to the story!**

_Chapter Five_  
><em>The Bounty Hunters: II<em>

The rather mismatched group stood in a semi-circle around the empty spot where their overnight camp once was. It was daylight and now they needed to move on. The sun sat high in the sky by now and not a cloud could be seen. It was a beautiful day and Ariella would be enjoying it if not for the fact that she was on the run. These two might not bring her in but others might and will if they had the chance. She looked up to the sky for but a moment, it was strange thinking that everything was normal barely a week ago and now she was fearing for her life each day and night. Ariella once had dreams of becoming a bard, but now all that remains are nightmares.

"Will you two be accompanying us? Even though you were the enemy yesterday, I hold no grudges." Fenrir queried. Jy was okay, but the Dunmer? It's not that Fenrir thought she was up to anything, it's just that she was a bit of a bitch.

"We should go back to Riften I suppose, let that witch know that we're not doing business with her anymore." Jy shrugged his shoulders, scratching the back of his scaly neck.

"And she'll be expecting a reason you idiot." Ivelia growled, Ariella couldn't see but she could almost feel the elf's furious blood-red eyes burning into her Argonian companion.

"Of course." Jy waved her off. "I'll think of something." Ivelia's cold, mean-spirited personality didn't seem to bother him at all.

"And I suspect you'll be waiting on me if your plan goes awry." Ivelia folded her arms.

"As always my dearest Ivelia." Jy chuckled as they started walking in the other direction as he jokingly slung an arm over his companion's shoulder.

"Call me that again and you'll never make it to that bloody city!" The elf hissed and jumped a foot away from him with clenched fists, which only made Jy laugh harder, he looked over his shoulder at the pair.

"I suspect we'll be meeting again soon you two. Stay alive while you wait for us." He smiled a wide grin, baring his pointed teeth.

* * *

><p>The Dunmer and Argonian started walking the way they came, it's a shame they didn't have the funds to buy a horse, it would make this much easier. Ivelia let her hood fall off to tug some knots out of her raven black hair with her hands, and pull the hood back on, only in the brief moments she took her hood off was when the hint of an uglier past was shown. She had a few scars on her face, but a lot of them were found mostly on her neck and body. Most of them weren't battle scars, but those of abuse because of her appearance, she was likened to the Snow Elves and even more heavily mistreated than most elves, even her own Dunmer parents scorned her. The reason of the shade of her skin was unknown, it was just something that happened she guessed, it made her life hard and turned her into a ruthless killer in the end, serving Sithis in the Dark brotherhood until five months ago, for a time she wondered if her brothers and sisters would come after her, but nobody came. Did they forget her? She didn't care to know anymore.<p>

"We should walk through the night if we're to get there faster." Ivelia broke the silence, which wasn't something she usually did, her eyes focused on the path ahead of them, it wasn't long before the weather turned sour, the rain began slowly and gently, and then turned into a torrential downpour. This didn't bother either of them at all, Ivelia didn't care about the weather and Jy was rather accustomed to water, being Argonian.

"I agree, the sooner we deal with that horrid woman the better." Jy nodded.

"You realize that she won't just let this slide right?" Ivelia frowned at him.

"Of course, we might end up being attacked." He shrugged. "I don't plan to die though. I'm not even twenty summers old yet."

Ivelia merely gave a brisk nod and said no more. Before she would wonder why she was wandering around Skyrim collecting bounties with some kid, but he was pretty experienced, knew his stuff about alchemy and was damn good with a bow, that and they made a good team, and got along well. In a way the two were a weird pair that would probably go a lot further than now. She was nearing thirty now, some of the most exciting moments of her life was during the time of dragons and petty bickering, but her life now was fun. It was boring too often, but Ivelia enjoyed travelling with Jy.

The journey back to Riften was boring, they only had to deal with a couple of wolves, a sabre cat wandered by, but didn't bother with them and instead had it's eyes set on an elk, and by the time they arrived, it was early morning so they had decided to retreat to Honeyside, where Jy lived to get a well deserved rest before they dealt with Maven Black-Briar.

* * *

><p>Maven sat on her throne, she spent the majority of her time here for the past ten years.<br>She always had mead at her side but never touched it, the alcohol seemed more like an accessoryand not something she enjoyed to drink. When the bounty hunters arrived at Mistveil Keep with no girl, she was furious, but kept her composure.

"Where is the girl?" She demanded, tapping steadily on the arm of her throne with the end of her fingernail. As usual, Hemming was at her side.

"Got away, sorry." Jy shrugged his shoulders, giving Maven a wry smile. He could sense his travelling partner tense beside him. _That was your plan?! _He could almost hear her say when they got away, _if _they got away.

The tapping stopped.

"You assured me that nobody got away from you." She glared dangerously.

"This one did."

"A child?"

"Correct."

"I should kill you for your insolence _lizard." _The word came out sharper than a blade. Jy glared, he could feel the atmosphere completely change from civil to a bloody battle. "And I think I might. Guards!"

In an instant, the throne room was filled with about six or so guards, but there would be more on the way, Jy cursed in his native language as he drew a throwing knife in each hand while Ivelia went for her sword. Each move was like it was choreographed beforehand, they worked perfectly in unison, Jy threw the knives, Ivelia moved almost too quickly for a mortal eye to see as she moved to a guard, slicing his throat open before moving onto the next, killing him in the same fashion. A heavier set guard broke them apart with his battle axe, Jy rolled in one direction while Ivelia went in the other, he grabbed an invisibility potion from his belt and downed it quickly, advancing to a different guard with a sword, Jy grabbed the guard around the head and snapped his neck quickly, and seconds before the invisibility potion wore off, he drew his bow again and notched another arrow, aiming for the bigger guard who was now going after Ivelia, Jy was no longer hidden, and noticed another guard too late before he felt the chill of a blade sink into his side.

"Jy!" Ivelia shrieked in a voice unlike her usual, husky, annoyed tone, furiously forcing her sword into her attacker's face, he barely hit the ground before she sent an ice spike into the guard who had stabbed Jy, she ran over immediately, abandoning her weapon in the face of her dying enemy. Groans from suffering guardsmen were heard all around, Maven and Hemming were gone. "Get up! You said you weren't going to die yet." She barked at him, casting healing hands on the wound. They heard voices drawing nearer to the door, more were coming and they needed to leave, now.

"I'm alright. Thanks." Jy stood up and stretched briefly. "Better get going."

Ivelia gave him a nod and went to retrieve her sword. "How are we going to get out of here? That's the only way." She pointed to the door.

_"Come out and lower your weapons! You're not getting away!" _Came a gruff voice from behind the door.

Ivelia glared. "You were never any good at coming up with a plan, were you?"

"I know, I know. But I've got you to just plow through everything with your sword and magic." The Argonian grinned.

"What if I can't plow through a city full of guards? I have confidence in my abilities but not _that _much." This was the first time Jy had ever seen her doubt herself in their short time together. And this was the first time Ivelia had doubted herself since her time in the Brotherhood.

"Well do you see any other way out?" Jy glanced around. "How did Maven and her annoying son escape?"

"No idea..." Ivelia furrowed her brow and started looking around too.

_"Come out and lower your weapons! This is the last time we ask!" _

"We're running out of time Jy..." Ivelia urged, but Jy wasn't listening, instead he was searching.

"I've found it!" He called and Ivelia came to his side. There was a trapdoor, the lock was tossed absent-mindedly a few feet away, and the whole thing looked like it may have been added in recent years. Smart thing if you're nothing but a family of sinister criminals, someone would come after you eventually.

As they descended below into unknown territory, the door to the keep burst open, and the guards found nothing but signs of battle. They were much too dim to check for the trapdoor of course, (someone would find it eventually if Maven didn't return before then,) and left with the bodies for burial.

_**A few hours later, back in Mistveil Keep... **_

Maven was absolutely furious, her eyes sent vicious daggers at everyone who crossed her path and her son fared no better. "I am surrounded by fools!" She growled, slumping in her throne with her head in her hands.

"Mother..." Hemming began in an unsure voice. "If I may offer some consolidation, we can hire more."

Maven glared dangerously at him, the daggers in her eyes seemed to be pressed against his throat, threatening to slice it open. "And what if this... this _girl _gets away again?!"

"Should I go after her?" He weakly offered.

Maven scoffed, throwing her head back to briefly laugh. "All the good it did me last time, you have the mind of a mudcrab, Hemming!"

"i'm sorry."

"Sometimes I wonder why I keep you idiots around." She mumbled darkly, scraping her nail along the arm of her throne. _How did this happen?! She is the daughter of a worthless ex-Imperial and some filthy Bosmer, no weapons training... how did she escape?! Unless those fools I hired just allowed her to. What a waste! At least I didn't pay them. _

"Get to work on writing up some posters for a bounty. I'll make this known all over Skyrim, say whatever you wish about her. If she somehow flees Skyrim, get them posted all over Tamriel! She's not escaping from me." Maven waved him off, and looked into her mug of mead with a frown, before she grinned at her warped reflection in the untouched liquid. "I'll get you."

Hemming suppressed a groan and went to work, hanging his head, he took a seat at his table in his room and began to write, page after page, accusing Ariella of whatever came to his mind, the bounty was pushed up to 10,000 septims, a reward that would be extremely difficult to ignore.

It felt like an eternity before he was done, and he left to post them up around the city, and give the rest to a courier. He found one, an elf which made him curl his upper lip in disgust. "You! Elf!" He snapped towards the young courier, who turned his head to look at Hemming, almost flinching at his aggressive approach.

"Uh, y-yes what can I do for you?" He asked, resting the urge to kick him and run. This elf was quite cowardly indeed, despite the dangers he faced daily to get people their letters.

"I need you to take these." Hemming gruffly responded as he shoved the stack of papers into the courier's hands. "Post them wherever you go. It's of the utmost importance."

"Yes of course, right away." The courier nodded, and skittered away with the posters.

"Now I can go drink." Hemming grumbled as he approached the Bee and Barb to drink away his coin.


	7. Chapter Six - Wanted

**I'm back with chapter six! Yay for me~ **  
><strong>There are a lot of scene changes, sorry about that. :L <strong>

Chapter Six  
><em>Wanted<em>

Ariella and Fenrir had arrived in Riverwood just as the sun was beginning to set. The rest of the way since they parted ways with Jy and Ivelia was pretty uneventful, food was starting to run short, so it was lucky they came into Riverwood when they did. When they passed through Helgen it was really quite brief, the village had been rebuilt a few years back, and it was bigger now, but neither of them wanted to stay, there was something eerie about the place since Alduin returned.

The passed by the standing stones, and eventually Riverwood came into view down the path.  
>It was still the same, quaint little hamlet by the river that it had always been. People came and went, but the only residentshere have been mostly the same for years.<p>

Ariella and Fenrir sat at a table in the Sleeping Giant Inn, it was warm, and quiet for now, as it was still early and the residents were still hard at work. The smells and warmth was welcome as soon as they entered, and they paid for a room each, which left Ariella with even less coin than what she began with. Frowning at the small stack of gold in her hand, Ariella turned her gaze to her tattered, fading yellow dress, the frown deepened. _How can I possibly expect to survive in Skyrim like this? _She glumly thought to herself.

Fenrir had removed and draped his cloak over the bench they sat on, and the two of them idly chatted while they ate. "So what now?" The Nord asked while wiping the crumbs left from his apple pie from his chin.

"I don't know. I thought about going to Solitude originally, but that's so far, and I don't know if the Bard's College will even take me." She'd never thought about it before, would the bards take a fourteen year old without parental permission for study? Maybe this whole endeavour was stupid, especially now that someone was sending bounty hunters after her. "No... it would be smarter to deal with whoever sent those two after us before anything else."

Fenrir frowned. _Ariella had no idea who was coming for her after all_. "When I was in Riften, obviously before I was falsely imprisoned... I heard that Maven Black-Briar was looking for a girl. When the bounty hunters came, after I... uh... threw you into the river." He paused, wincing a little as Ariella glowered at him, recalling the memory. "After... that. I found out that it was you she was looking for."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner!" Ariella gasped, almost dropping her sweetroll onto the floor.

"Well, I didn't have a chance to tell you, you were gone when I found out, and after that we were just focused on getting camp set up... I'm sorry Ariella." He looked sheepish, offering Ariella the most sorry look he could muster.

Ariella put her head down onto the table and sighed. "Well... at least I know now, you don't need to be sorry. But I still wish you hadn't done _**that**_." She turned her head to frown at him again. "You're lucky it wasn't colder or more dangerous, and I'm grateful that I can swim." She sighed, letting her eyes close.

"Well if you look at it from a comical perspective...-" Fenrir began to protest.

"To Oblivion with your comical perspective!" Ariella jokingly argued back, sitting upright to give him a playful yet firm punch in the arm.

"Ow-hey!"

They laughed and joked for a bit, but as conversations usually had a habit of doing, it veered into a more serious subject.

"So what's your story anyway, Ariella? We're travelling together, so I think we should take the time to get to know each other a little while we've got the chance."

"Well I really didn't let you in on it when you first asked..." Ariella began, slightly lowering her voice as more patrons started to pile in, and she didn't like eavesdroppers. "But I came to Riften because my parents were killed back in Ivarstead, by the Dark Brotherhood." She said their name with an expression mixed with anger and fear, the name itself sent her heart racing in panic, seeing them in the flesh was worse. "In a blind rush I decided to run away to Solitude, but without the coin I wasn't going anywhere... I was going to work in Riften."

"I'm sorry..." Fenrir gave her a mournful look. "Everything's been going rather badly for you... hasn't it?"

"Ha, it has indeed." Ariella nodded, "Though I can't say your luck has been good considering we met in prison."

Fenrir laughed. "True."

"But before that. I was living quite happily, my father had retired from the Legion once they won, and I wanted to be a bard."

Fenrir nodded slowly, frowning a little. "Strange for me to be in the company of an Imperial."

"Not fully, you may have already noticed that I'm half Bosmer. But as for the Legion itself, I don't care about any of that war stuff. Though I encouraged my father to always win and come back alive, but that's just children. I didn't understand war. I guess your parents, or at least one of them was a Stormcloak?"

Fenrir nodded slowly. "My father was. But he was killed by Thalmor, as was my mother eventually. It didn't matter if you wielded a weapon to those bastards." He said through gritted teeth, he clenched his fists tightly, recalling the bitter memories.

"That's terrible, I'm sorry." Ariella looked at him sadly.

"After that, I went to live with my uncle here in Riverwood, which is why I'm known here. Uncle was unfair to me all the time though, and eventually I left. That was about... two years ago. I've been wandering ever since. I even considered becoming a Stormcloak myself, but I decided that I wouldn't be a very good soldier and just honed my skills as a hunter instead. I'd be glad to rid Skyrim of Thalmor though. Imperials are one thing but Thalmor..." He trailed off, it was clear the hatred for them was too intense for mere words.

Ariella nodded her head in agreement, and even though she was half Imperial and her father fought for the Legion, she understood him. 

* * *

><p>It had to be at least midnight, and Ariella was wide awake in her bed for the night. More patrons arrived since she and Fenrir retired to bed, but the voices of drunkards didn't bother her much, for the past few days it had been pretty quiet aside from the idle conversation she and Fenrir had while they travelled.<p>

Vivid images of the Dark Brotherhood and her parents lifeless faces, expressions permanently twisted into silent screams was embedded into her mind. Every night since that night she had trouble sleeping, before she would only sometimes have a nightmare, it was just normal for people to have nightmares from time-to-time. But now it was much worse, and occurred when she dared to sleep. Within the hour she would wake, coated with a thin sheen of sweat, breathless and on the brink of tears.

But tonight she didn't bother trying.

The blue-ish rays of the moonlight shone brightly through the window, and Ariella found herself staring at the particles of dust floating by, only being seen as they passed through the light, and then disappearing into the shadow. Reflecting on the conversation she had with Fenrir earlier, she couldn't help but feel bad, her father probably would have killed friends of Fenrir and his parents. Ariella never wondered about families of the opposition before, even if she ultimately didn't care about either Imperial or Stormcloak, she never thought about who her father was killing when he returned from his duty.

The teenager pondered until inevitable sleep took her.

* * *

><p>'<em>WANTED! <em>

_'By order of Jarl Maven-Black Briar the unnamed half-bosmer female is wanted for the crimes of murdering children, and obsessively worshipping Talos._  
><em>She is not dangerous, but she may have an accomplice who is, and may be killed at will.<em>

_The reward is ten thousand septims as long as the girl is brought back alive and unharmed.'_

"That's completely ridiculous!" Ariella gasped in awe as she looked at the poster nailed to the wall of the Inn clearly written about her, the accusations now spread around Skyrim at great speed. She was in more trouble than ever before, and the claim that she was an 'obsessive Talos worshipper' meant that Thalmor would be on her heel as well. But at least Maven didn't know her name or what she looked like, that was good. As she looked around them, Ariella noticed that there were more posters scattered about Riverwood. She tore the one she stood in front of down in a rage, stomping it into the dirt.

"What are we going to do about that then?" Fenrir asked beside her, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared thoughtfully at the now torn, crumpled poster at their feet.

"Maybe I should just give myself up." Ariella sighed, hanging her head.

"What?! No! She'll probably kill you!" Fenrir argued with wide eyes. "Don't be daft Ariella, we can beat this, and the people here won't believe it, so you've got more allies than you think."

"That may be true but we'll have to leave eventually and I can't even protect myself, Fenrir... I'm useless."

"You're not useless." Fenrir protested. "I can teach you, I'm sure we can get you a bow from the 'smithy."

"You'd do that?" Ariella's amber eyes seemed to glitter with excitement. "You'd really do that for me?"

"Yeah, sure. I mean, we're friends aren't we?" Fenrir gave her a sincere smile. "And I can easily afford a bow, it's not that much."

Ariella let out an excited squeal and threw her arms around Fenrir, giving him a hug so tight it would put a bear to shame. "Oh thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You're truly an amazing friend!"

It took him off guard, and Fenrir stumbled back, but he gained his footing and returned the hug. "It's no problem." He grinned. "Well come on, stop squeezing the life out of me so we can turn you into the best archer Skyrim has ever seen! Except for me, of course." He gave her a wink, and his grin widened. 

* * *

><p>"Hey Alvor!" Fenrir waved at the Blacksmith, Alvor, who had blonde hair which was beginning to go grey, his shoulders were broad and he had massive hands that were clearly made for smithing. He was hammering away at a glowing hot sword when they approached, and gave Fenrir a brisk nod.<p>

"It's been a while. Your old uncle has actually moved." He told him as he put the sword into a bucket of water to cool it off. Steam erupted from the bucket, making a loud hissing sound as the sword cooled.

"Good riddance." Fenrir shrugged. "Got any long bows in stock?"

"So the rickety ancient bow you lug around finally broke then? Come to good old Alvor for a more modern one?" The smith grinned.

"You should know Nordic craftsmanship can last for centuries, old man." Fenrir retorted, smirking. He drew his bow and plucked the bowstring a few times to prove his point. "But it's not for me." He nodded to Ariella.

"Hi." She gave an awkward wave, it was obvious the Nord hadn't noticed her until now.

Alvor looked bemused. "You're a little... well... small for battle, aren't you?" He looked her up and down. It was true, Ariella was pretty short, taking mostly after her father even though his height didn't stop him.

"Does it matter? I'm not using a great sword or anything." She put her hands on her hips and frowned at him.

"True." Alvor nodded his head while he searched for the sturdiest bow he had in stock, and handed it over. "Why don't you give it a test before you buy it? I don't usually do that kind of thing but something tells me you're no archer."

"We'll see about that." Ariella took the bow and left with Fenrir to go practice by the mill.

* * *

><p>Fenrir stood behind her, helping her position herself to shoot the bow properly. He'd never taught anyone before, and hoped this wouldn't end badly. "Arms a little lower... that's it."<p>

"I'm not going to hit it this time either." Ariella mumbled.

"You will. Start by loosening your grip on the arrow, it's too tight... aaaand, fire!"

Ariella loosed the arrow, it wobbled towards the makeshift target, (consisting of a battered and nearly broken shield Alvor offered them to practice on before he discarded it), and it just nicked the edge of it before falling into the grass. Ariella cursed loudly and kicked at the ground. "Again?! I'm never going to hit the damn thing."

"Just keep trying." Fenrir urged, and Ariella notched another arrow.

Miss.

And again, and again.

And again.

Ariella let out an annoyed grunt and let the bow drop to the ground, her head hung.

"You know..." Fenrir started, removing his quiver from her back, he went to retrieve the rest of his arrows. "I'm starting to agree with Alvor."

"Me too. I'm glad he let me test it first." Ariella picked up the bow and went to help Fenrir pick up the arrows.

"He's got a good eye for these things." Fenrir nodded.

"Well then what would I be good at?"

Her companion shrugged. "No idea, let's go back and find out."

* * *

><p>Ariella felt the weight of the steel sword in her hands, it was a little heavy, like her father's sword, but it felt right, and she would get used to the weight of it eventually. She gave it a few clumsy practice swings and grinned at Fenrir. "This is better. It feels so much more natural, and because it's more expensive than the bow, I'll pay you back the extra coin."<p>

Fenrir shook his head. "No need."

Alvor nodded his head, arms crossed over his broad chest. "I'm glad you like it. But there's one more thing I'd like to suggest." He reached down for a leather shield that leaned on the wall next to his workbench. "You're gonna need all the protection you can get." He tried to hide his smirk.

He didn't have much faith in her did he? At least he was willing to help.

"Oh, thanks..." Ariella took the shield, and gave him the rest of her coin. She wouldn't let Fenrir pay for her again.

"You're short ten septims." Alvor said after he counted the coin out.

"Here." Fenrir handed him the rest of the money, and dragged Ariella back to the area they were training in before she argued about it.

* * *

><p>Ariella couldn't really train with the shield they were using to shoot arrows at, so instead she and Fenrir sparred. He did have a sword, but much preferred to use a bow, he only had it if he was forced into close combat. So for the rest of the day they trained. And they would leave once they decided where to go next.<p>

"So..." Fenrir panted, moving out of the way to dodge Ariella, and came back with a counter-attack, which Ariella blocked with her shield. "Where are we going after this?"

"I need to figure out what I'm going to do about Maven Black-Briar and this bounty." Ariella side-stepped and lunged at Fenrir, her voice was strained and she sounded breathless when she spoke. "People might... just go out of their way to kill me without caring about the reward just because-" She was pushed back and fell, backside landing with a _thud _on the dirt. "...apparently I avidly worship Talos."

"Which makes training you especially important." Fenrir held out a hand for her to take as he pulled her to her feet. "Come on, let's go again."

"You read my mind." Ariella grinned and took her stance again. 

* * *

><p>A couple of mercenaries sat at a table in the 'Barb with a mug of ale each. One, a Redguard with a shaven head, the garb and hood were telltale signs that he was an Alik'r Warrior, or at least he used to be.<br>The other was a Khajiit with copper fur streaked with black, he wore a simple set of leather armor and a mischevious grin. They were lifelong friends, travelling all over Tamriel, collecting bounties since they were young, but old enough to handle themselves.

"This one is happy with our last payment." Do'kari stated, his accent was heavy, almost like he had come straight from Elsweyr.

The Redguard, Shirkar, nodded in agreement while draining the rest of his ale. "But that's not all." He told his companion while reaching for a folded letter on the table next the pouch of gold that was their payment for the last job. "We're setting out tomorrow, here." He handed the Khajiit the letter, who took it and opened it, his fiery eyes lit up with excitement.

"Ten _thousand _septims?" He purred, whiskers twitching when they did when there was a lot of gold to be made. "For a small girl?"

The Reguard matched the Khajiit's grin and nodded. "You betcha. I'm a little disheartened that we can't get a bit messy like we do with everyone else." He said while gazing longingly at his sheathed cutlass. "But gold is gold and in this case, it's a lot of it!"

"If the small girl has a companion, then we _can_ have a bit of fun." The Khajiit grinned darkly.

Meanwhile, a couple of local drunkards a few tables over also spoke of Ariella in hushed whispers.

"It seems a little desperate to me." One of them said.

"Murdering children? Obsessively worshipping Talos? Those are certainly terrible crimes of course but... It might b-be jus' the mead talkin' but it seems ex-ex... what'sh the word?"

"Extras-sensory?" *

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Nevermind, what were we talkin' about again?"

"I heard what you were talking about." A bark came from behind them, causing the entire inn to fall silent. The drunkards turned to look directly in the eyes of Jarl Maven Black-Briar, who was seething with rage at their conversation.

"M-my Jarl, w-we were just-" One of them stammered, beginning to rise on wobbly feet.

"You were just what?" A wicked smile played on Maven's lips, looking down her nose at him, hands planted firmly on her hips. "Calling your Jarl desperate? Oh but don't worry, I'll have some people come visit you for such an atrocity!" She snapped, turning on one heel and striding out with her head lifted, shoving past people until she returned to the keep, she retreated to her throne and collapsed into it in a heap, her confidence faded, and the anger rose. She couldn't believe some half-blooded bitch was getting the best of her, and people were starting to call their own Jarl desperate!

"That girl is making a fool out of me!" Maven yelled into an empty room, picking up the closest thing to her, which was a bottle of Black-Briar mead, and hurled it at the wall.

* * *

><p>As the sun rose over Riften, announcing the new day, the two drunkards had been found dead floating by in the canal, as if to send a message.<p>

**AN: *I don't know why I put that in there, I couldn't really think of how to wrap up their conversation. Something random I guess :L Extrasensory perception is cool though. **

**Hope you enjoyed, I struggled writing this over the course of about a week and I couldn't help but feel as if this and the last few chapters have been a bit rushed. ._. **  
><strong>I just want to say that Black Rose won't be all that long, I did intend for it to be longer though, sadly that is not to be. But there'll be more stuff in the future. Again, thank you all for sticking with me c: <strong>


End file.
